Short-term rentals are prohibited

Short-term rentals, like those offered through Airbnb or VRBO, are prohibited by the restrictive covenants found in Peck’s Lake deeds. Our deeds include restrictions and limitations on how properties can be used. These restrictions/limitations include prohibiting using deed-restricted properties for business or commercial purposes, limit properties to single-family residential use ONLY, and prohibit using your property to allow access to the lake to the general public. You can find out more about the restrictive covenants that are part of our deeds on the “Deeds” page of the website.

The PLPA had been embroiled in a lawsuit challenging the restrictive covenants found in our deeds since late 2020. In November 2023, New York’s Supreme Court for the 4^th District issued its final decision in Stone v Peck, ruling that the restrictive covenants that are part of our deeds “prohibits the short-term rental of property,” and that the restrictions on granting access to the lake to the general public “prohibits…permitting renters access to the waters of Peck Lake.”

“Even if the Plaintiffs and their renters are using the property for residential purposes, and even if the Plaintiffs themselves are physically at the property a portion of the year,” wrote New York Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Slezak, “the commercialization of property in any way, by renting it out and advertising it on Airbnb or VRBO is prohibited.“

So is “house-swapping”

It has come to our attention that some property owners, perhaps as a way to get around the prohibition on short-term rentals, claim that they are instead “house-swapping,” and argue that they are not prohibited from doing so because no money changes hands.

In a house-swap, parties agree to “swap” houses for a specified time—each staying at the other’s property, not unlike a time-sharing arrangement. It is the position of the PLPA, and of our attorneys, that the ruling in Stone v Peck also applies to those who offer and/or use their property for “house swapping.”

Our deeds restrict properties to “residential” use only.  House Swapping is not a residential use of property. It is not a residential use because the third parties using  property during a house-swap are using it in a short-term, transient manner, much like a hotel or a timeshare — uses prohibited by the Court’s ruling in Stone v. Peck, as well as other state court decisions upholding restrictive covenants.

House swapping also violates the prohibition on commercial/business use of properties. “House Swapping is commercial,” writes our attorneys, “it entails a bargained-for exchange through which you obtain the benefit of temporarily living in a third-party’s residence.”

House Swapping also runs afoul the prohibition regarding granting access to the lake to the  general public. Those using Peck’s Lake properties in a house-swap are “not party to any deed, easement, or license to use the land or the lake waters,” writes our attorneys. Rather, they are members of the general public and do not have permission to access the Lake.

We hope that all lake property owners will abide by the court’s decision and honor the restrictive covenants that are part of our deeds by not offering your property as a short-term rental or as a house-swap.